Questions · Shona Robison

14 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are on waiting lists for free personal care, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This information is currentlybeing collected and collated. When this has been done I will write to themember to provide her with this information.

14 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities operate waiting lists for people eligible for free personal care.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This information is currentlybeing collected and collated. When this has been done I will write to themember to provide her with this information.

9 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will meet its target that everyone will be able to receive free eye checks by 1 April 2006.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-24072 on 20 March 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.…

9 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which groups and areas of Scotland will be the first to receive free eye checks.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-24072 on 20 March 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.…

9 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable is for rolling out free eye checks across Scotland.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: All NHS eye examinations in Scotlandwill be free from 1 April 2006.

9 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the final (a) group and (b) area to receive free dental checks will receive them.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-24056 on 20 March 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.…

9 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable is for rolling out free dental checks across Scotland.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-24056 on 20 March 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.…

9 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which groups and areas will be the first to receive free dental checks.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-24056 on 20 March 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.…

9 Mar 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made on meeting its target for everyone to receive free dental checks by 1 April 2007.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: All NHS dental examinations inScotland will be free from 1 April 2006.

23 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Children’s Cancer Services in Scotland Working Group is due to complete its next report and when the report will be made available to the Parliament.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Children’s Cancer Services in Scotland Working Group was set up as a short-life working group to report to the Children and Young People’s Health Support Group (CYPHSG) and is no longer meeting. Children’s cancer services in Scotland will now be considere…

10 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting times have been for (a) emergency and (b) routine dental treatment in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Information on waiting timesfor emergency or routine treatment in the general and community dental service isnot available from central statistical returns.

10 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting times for accident and emergency cases in hospitals have been in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board and hospital.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Between 1999 and 2002, information on waiting times at accident and emergency (A&E) departments was recorded centrally via a series of annual week-long surveys. The survey was reduced to three days duration in 2003 to minimise the workload of busy A&E…

10 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether individuals in receipt of the holding benefit prior to a Personal Capability Assessment for the Employment and Support Allowance, proposed by the UK Government’s Green Paper on welfare reform, will be entitled to free prescriptions.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-23142 on 10 March 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.…

10 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether individuals in receipt of the Employment and Support Allowance, proposed by the UK Government’s Green Paper on welfare reform, will be entitled to free prescriptions.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: No decisions have been takenon the possible passporting of exemption from prescription charges as a consequenceof the welfare reforms proposed by the UK Government. We will await the outcomeof both the consultation on those proposals and the currently on-goin…

6 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that audiology should join consultant-led services in falling within the remit of the National Waiting Times Unit to ensure that standards of service delivery remain at a level which minimises any disruption or discomfort to patients and maintains consistency across r…

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Audiology services do notfall under the current remit of the National Waiting Times Unit as audiology isnot a consultant-led service or defined as a speciality. The AudiologyModernisation Project Board, however, set its own national targets for waitingtimes a…

6 Feb 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, although audiology does not fall formally with the National Waiting Times guidelines, many local audiology services operate to the standards specified in the guidelines.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to thequestion S2W-22949 answered on 6 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility forwhich can be found at: <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.se…

11 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS boards have implemented the Agenda for Change pay package for nurses.

Answer · Andy Kerr: All NHS boards are in the process of assimilating nursing staff in NHS Scotland on to the Agenda for Change pay bands, and substantial progress has been made. It is expected that most nurses will be on the Agenda for Change scales by the end of May 2006. …

10 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to promote information technology as a career choice for female pupils in schools and what plans it has for the future development of these measures.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Careers Scotland provide a wide range of high quality and impartial advice and guidance services to clients of all ages, including pupils in schools. They assist individuals to make well-informed career and learning choices which will enable them to take adva…

10 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the ratio has been of males to females supported by the Student Awards Agency who have gained graduate or postgraduate qualifications in an information technology-related discipline in each year since 1999.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The following table showsthe proportion of males to females, who received tuition fee support from theStudent Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS), graduating at first degree orpostgraduate level in an information technology-related discipline in each yearsince …

10 Jan 2006 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the ratio has been of males to females who have gained qualifications in computing studies at (a) Standard grade, (b) Higher grade and (c) Certificate of Sixth Year Studies level or equivalent in each year since 1999.

Answer · Peter Peacock: Information on the ratio of males to females who have gained National Qualifications at Standard Grade or equivalent; Higher Grade and Certificate of Sixth Year Studies/Advanced Higher from 1999 to 2005 has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information C…

6 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cyclist casualties have been treated by the NHS in each NHS board area in each of the last five years.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The number of inpatient discharges from acute hospitals in Scotland relating to pedal cyclists and motor cycle riders involved in transport accidents following admission as an emergency is shown in the table. Some patients involved in such accidents wi…

6 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have agreed to voluntary redundancy through the VisitScotland restructuring process, broken down by (a) gender and (b) tourist board area.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: This is an operational matter for VisitScotland. I will ask the Chief Executive of VisitScotland to write to you direct on this matter.

6 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have taken compulsory redundancy through the VisitScotland restructuring process, broken down by (a) gender and (b) tourist board area.

Answer · Patricia Ferguson: This is an operational matter for VisitScotland. I will ask the Chief Executive of VisitScotland to write to you direct on this matter.

5 Dec 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21201 by Robert Brown on 1 December 2005, why it has no current plans to introduce Bookstart Plus scheme for toddlers or the Bookstart Treasure Chest for children aged between 36 and 48 months.

Answer · Robert Brown: Current funding for Bookstart Scotland is met from a managed reprioritisation of resources within the Education and Young People portfolio as a whole. Decisions on future funding levels still have to be determined.